Recruiting never stops and it’s easy to miss the top stories day-to-day. Recruiting analyst Greg Smith recaps all things Nebraska recruiting news, analysis and more so you never miss a thing.
One year ago, the NCAA put a mandatory dead period into effect. It restricted college from hosting recruits on campus in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. That part of the dead period has gotten the lion’s share of attention. The dead period also prevented coaches from hosting camps and getting out on the road to evaluate prospects. That part of the rule will also have long-lasting impacts on programs.
Coach Scott Frost summed this all up well. He spoke about it during his last press conference back in December.
“I’m really impressed with the work our staff did, considering the fact we couldn’t go on the road recruiting, we couldn’t get kids to come here,” Frost said. “I think we signed a really good class, a lot of pieces that are going to fit together with what we have. I think it’s going to be the key to getting us over the top.
“One of the biggest selling points in coming to Nebraska if you’re a player, especially far away, is coming and seeing the games and seeing the fans and meeting the people and experiencing all that. The guys had to work hard to get it done without the benefit of those things.”
Now schools are preparing to come out of the other side of pandemic. There are strong thoughts now that the dead period will be lifted in some fashion starting June 1. ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren spoke with Michigan offensive coordinator Josh Gattis about preparing for the dead period to end. His full quote is really interesting.
I asked Michigan OC Josh Gattis about preparing for the potential end of this recruiting dead period in the future. He said he thinks this class could make or break some programs three or four years down the line because of time lost evaluating. Full quote is below pic.twitter.com/OblbQh6F9i
— Tom VanHaaren (@TomVH) March 17, 2021
In-person evaluation is so critical. It helps coaches make more informed decisions. It also allows prospects to get real-time feedback from college coaches on what they need to work on. Those moments can be invaluable for prospects. What Gattis is talking about is a very real situation. There might be huge misses in recruiting classes across the country from both 2021 and 2022.
Think about the holes on Nebraska’s roster because of past attrition or misses. Wide receiver is the most glaring example of this. Nebraska’s situation has already had a big impact on team building. It’s reasonable to expect there to be an impact from the 2021 and 2022 recruiting classes. There is an opportunity for schools. If you did very well evaluating the right talent for your program, it will benefit you even more than normal. If other teams are experiencing issues while your team stays steady, it will help a great deal.
We’ll see what happens moving forward. We won’t know for sure until a couple years from now. I’d wager that there will be unintended impacts on programs in the future from the lack of true evaluation during this last year.
Recruit Watch
>> Husker running back target Damari Alston put out some nice highlights.
where im from bullies get bullied 🤷🏽♂️ pic.twitter.com/w4cjp8wjNC
— DA ♛ (@DamariAlston) March 17, 2021
>> The Huskers offered Iowa 2023 lineman Andrew Depaepe earlier this week.
Blessed to have received an offer from the University of Nebraska! @HuskerFBNation @AllenTrieu @JoshHelmholdt pic.twitter.com/HdqrsRJrJH
— Andrew Depaepe (@AndrewDepaepe2) March 16, 2021
ICYMI
>> Derek Peterson is making the Final Four cases for Zac Taylor and Joe Ganz in the QBracket.
>> Husker volleyball savored sweet victory after a sweep in Iowa City. The team also had some attrition when setter Nicole Drewnick entered her name in the transfer portal.
>> The women’s basketball team is preparing for UT Martin and for what they hope will be a long WNIT run.
>> Nebraska basketball assistant Bobby Lutz is leaving Nebraska to pursue coaching opportunities.
>> There are ‘no secrets’ for the Huskers and Hawkeyes in the second series of the season.
>> Let’s put a bow on the basketball season with a state tournament notebook. We also have a photo gallery from the games.